Coney Island Hospital Reopens WIC Program After Sandy

The following is a press release from Coney Island Hospital, which was been rolling out services after being shuttered by Superstorm Sandy:

Coney Island Hospital (CIH) today announced the re-opening of its Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food and nutrition program made possible with a $50,000 grant from Public Health Solutions (PHS) and the Robin Hood Foundation (RHF). The two WIC offices run by Coney Island Hospital have been closed since Hurricane Sandy, affecting 5,000 participants. The grant funding will establish a temporary new WIC office in the community to serve clients from the center that was located inside the hospital campus and is now undergoing repairs, and a second center that operated out of the Ida G. Israel Community Health Center, which is permanently closed.

The new WIC temporary offices are located at Luna Park Senior Center, 2880 West 12th Street, Room 4, Brooklyn, and are open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The new site was chosen for its easy access to public transportation and proximity to the former Ida G. Israel Community Health Center. The grant will cover the rent of the temporary location, new office furniture, supplies, and clinical equipment. The Public Health Solutions and the Robin Hood Foundation are also supporting the Coney Island Hospital WIC staff with client and community outreach, as well as client coordination in the clinic.

“We are pleased to welcome back our WIC program clients – the women and children who depend on this vital food and nutrition assistance to keep their families healthy,” said Isabel Diaz, Director of WIC programs at Coney Island Hospital. “The opening of our temporary site at Luna Park, thanks to Public Health Solutions and the Robin Hood Foundation, is a huge comfort to our patients and a major step towards our recovery after Hurricane Sandy.”

“Public Health Solutions and its Neighborhood WIC program have been glad to be a part of Hurricane Sandy recovery work,” said Louise Cohen, Vice President, Public Health Programs at PHS. “We have had a great collaboration with the Coney Island Hospital WIC program as well as with New York State Department of Health WIC, to get this program up and running again to serve families in Coney Island. We are grateful to the Robin Hood Foundation for funding this recovery work.”

The WIC Program is federally funded special supplemental nutrition program that serves to safeguard the health of low-income, nutritionally at-risk Women, Infants and Children (to age 5).

The WIC program provides:

Nutritious foods to supplement diets of WIC eligible participants

Nutrition assessment and education on healthy eating and physical activity